Rogers Cup 2012 Toronto

This was my first Rogers Cup as president of the OTA, and boy was it a busy week! As soon as I returned from Ottawa Open/Roman Cup, I jumped on court Sunday as line official for some of the qualifier matches with the likes of Fognini, Reynolds, Berrer, Dodig, Odesnik, Gabashvili, Ebden and Stakhovsky. The opening weekend is a good time for us line officials to warm up our eyes and begin getting used to the fast servers. There was also a bit extra pressure this year as the Grand Stand (GS) was outfitted with the Hawk-Eye technology to allow player challenges, just like on Centre Court. I also worked line calls on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I would say my highlight was Wed afternoon at about 2pm when I spent about 30 minutes on court with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Jeremy Chardy. That was my first time on Centre court and what a thrill to be calling lines for these players!

Ready to go on court

Seventh Annual OTA Presidents' Day

Monday gave me a day break to meet many of the OTA member club reps attending Presidents' Day at the Buick Pavilion. This marks the 7th year holding this event and it is always well attended. I'm sure we had nearly 200 attendees. For those who've never attended, it's a chance to network with like-minded volunteers who work hard to maintain an active club and promote tennis to their members. The agenda is not too heavy...a nice continental breakfast followed by some introductions of the staff and board, and this year a quick update by myself on the results of the OTA survey that was distributed electronically a few months ago. The full results will be published in the September issue of OT Magazine. After a few draws for prizes and a few photos, everyone left for the courts to watch some exciting matches. Thanks to everyone for attending!

For more photos of the entire week at Rogers Cup ATP, go to the OTA facebook page.

Ottawa Tennis Scene

My visit to Ottawa Aug 1-4 quickly proved to me that the nation's capital has a vibrant tennis community, boasting 34 clubs and over 394 courts. The community of clubs, together with the NCTA - National Capital Tennis Association (a region of the OTA) have developed tour players, NCAA scholarship players, top ranked provincial players and everyday club players over the years. However ...

As with many clubs in other regions, Ottawa clubs have their share of challenges. Clubs have difficulty growing their programs to attract new players and many have limited funds for facility improvements. This, combined with limited funding from the City of Ottawa and slow penetration of tennis in the school system has given Ottawa clubs a reason to rethink or at least revitilize their approach to growing the sport.

One of the reasons for visiting Ottawa with OTA Executive Director Jim Boyce was to outline a value proposition to a group of invited clubs to help them address their existing issues and set them on a positive course moving forward to grow participation in the sport. NCTA president Sean Sweeney and Ottawa park and rec manager Ward Cosman are especially eager to promote the benefits of the OTA and also attended. I think some real interest was generated and it is my hope that the OTA can work in closer partnership with these clubs so they do become part of the OTA tennis family. Stay tuned for future updates.

Ontario Open / Roman Cup

My wife and I also got a chance to visit a number of the beautiful clubs in Ottawa. One in particular, the Rideau Tennis Club will be celebrating its 100th anniversary later this year, and has been host to the annual Ontario Open / Roman Cup for many years now. This year there were 60 adults entered for the Open and over 200 juniors for the Roman Cup. The Roman Cup receives generous donations from Mike Cowpland and his wife. The event has been held annually since 2008, in memory of their son, Roman Kowalski Jr., who tragically passed away at the age of 22 in the summer of 2007. Roman had been a very successful tennis player all his life.

The club boasts 11 clay courts and eight hard courts in a beautiful setting next to the Rideau River. The day prior to the start of the Open/Roman Cup, a fun Pro-Am tournament is played, and yours truly decided to enter this year as one of the Ams. Guest pro Ted Thompson and I teamed up and had some exciting matches against our opponents. The matches were followed by a nice BBQ, presentations and a silent auction. Our day on Friday was spent enjoying many of the juniors matches on court.

Many thanks to Rideau Club manager Janet Van Bakel and Head Pro Zhenya Kondratovski for hosting such a wonderful event! More photos can be found on the OTA Facebook Page.

Scott at Entrance to Rideau

Scott with NCTA President Sean Sweeney, Roman Cup sponsor Mike Cowpland and OTA ED Jim Boyce